On the evening of Thursday, January 12th, the Queens County Young Democrats held a “Labor in the Trump Administration” meeting and forum at the new Latin American Intercultural Alliance on Archer Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.
The event was hosted by Stacey Eliuk, President of the QCYD and National Committeewoman for the New York State Young Democrats.
That evening, over 75 participants including a number of Local 3 members talked about what the next four years will look like under the new Trump administration. Much of the discussion focused on the Republican agenda of pushing national “right to work” legislation, repealing prevailing wage and getting rid of project labor agreements. The panel discussed how workers will continue to fight for a living wage and forge democratic solidarity with unions. A major concern expressed centered around what will happen to the advances for working people made over the past eight years under President Obama’s administration and where the frontline will be in the battle for the middle class under Trump’s administration.
The panel consisted of Amir Abbady, Vice President of the QCYD & Director of Constituent Services at New York State Senate; Alex Gleason, ‰Û_Policy Associate at New York City Central Labor Council; Mike McGuire, Director, Mason Tenders District Council PAC; LeChele Gilly, Deputy Labor Campaigns Director at Hillary for America; NY City Council member I. Daneek Miller, Chair, Committee on Civil Service and Labor; and Brian Wagerman, Steamfitters Local 638 Business Representative.
Alex Gleason spoke to the crowd about the influence of Harry Van Arsdale Jr. on the New York City labor movement. Mr. Gleason quoted Harry, saying, “‰Û_workers will have to lose everything before fighting to gain it back.”
Special attention was paid to Trump’s nominee for the Department of Labor. Andrew Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, LLC, the parent company of fast food companies Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Puzder has stated he does not believe in any minimum wage, nor that a worker should make any overtime. He also believes that mandatory breaks are unnecessary in the restaurant business and that more jobs should be automated. In Trump’s America, this will be the person charged with running the Department of Labor, who’s mission statement is “To foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.”
This event and others like it will be necessary over the next four years and beyond, to ensure we are educating ourselves and engaging on the issues affecting all working people.
Date Posted
